1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to telecommunication operations and controls, and in particular, to methods and systems for providing telecommunication services over the internet.
2. Background of the Invention
The services provided by internet service providers have undergone explosive growth over the past several years. One such service has been the Instant Message or Instant Messaging (IM) service, which allows users to seamlessly exchange text messages on a substantial real-time basis. Indeed, it has been precisely because of the “real-timeness” of the exchange that has made IM particularly popular.
A typical IM implementation only supports text messaging. However, there are times when voice-to-voice communication may be more appropriate or desirable. However, a voice-enabled communication device may not be readily available. In addition, the parties may not necessarily be aware of one another's telephone numbers to initiate a conventional telephone conversation.
Another common limitation regarding a typical IM implementation is that users must be enrolled with a common internet service provider to be engaged in a multi-user text conference (also known as a “chat session”, which is implemented as a “chat room”). That is, only those users who are members of a given IM text network are able to receive instant messages from other users in the same network.
In addition, with currently available IM internet services, a user typically must include, a priori, a party's address in his/her “buddy” list prior to being able to send an IM to that party. Thus, in the event the user wishes to conduct a multi-party conference with that party and a third party, the user must first invite the third party to register with his/her IM service and then add the third party to his/her buddy list before conducting the conference. This process is, of course, inconvenient and time-consuming, and may not even be practicable.
As will be appreciated by those skilled in the relevant art, conventional IM, despite its widespread use, still inherently embodies several inconvenient limitations.